Tuscaloosa population grows, but most West Alabama counties decline, census shows

3A CHAMPIONSHIP LEEDS MADISON ACADEMY

Madison Academy fans cheer on the team after a touchdown in the first quarter of the Leeds vs. Madison Academy Class 3A State Championship high school football game at Bryant Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013. The latest census data show that Tuscaloosa County's population increased while most West Alabama counties declined.

Staff photo | Dusty Compton

By Patrick RupinskiBusiness Editor

Published: Thursday, March 27, 2014 at 11:00 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, March 27, 2014 at 11:32 p.m.

Tuscaloosa County’s population for the first time now exceeds 200,000 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest population estimates. The county’s population grew 3 percent between April 1, 2010, and July 1, 2013, according to data released Thursday by the Census Bureau.

3A CHAMPIONSHIP LEEDS MADISON ACADEMY

Madison Academy fans cheer on the team after a touchdown in the first quarter of the Leeds vs. Madison Academy Class 3A State Championship high school football game at Bryant Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013. The latest census data show that Tuscaloosa County's population increased while most West Alabama counties declined.

Staff photo | Dusty Compton

Tuscaloosa County’s estimated population now is 204,180, compared with 2010’s population of 194,656. It was the only county in West Alabama to see its population rise.

The Census Bureau reported that, for the most part, metro areas continued to grow nationally. The strongest growth was fueled by people picking up and moving to find jobs in energy production across the oil- and gas-rich areas west of the Mississippi River, particularly in the Great Plains, Texas and the Mountain West.

Alabama was not part of that energy boom. The state’s population grew 1.1 percent, less than half of the national average of 2.4 percent.

In Alabama, rural counties continued to lose population. But even in the more populous counties, it was a mixed record. Jefferson and Mobile counties, saw little change in their population while Montgomery County saw a 1 percent decline. In the Birmingham metro area, however, outlying counties saw gains. Shelby County was up 5 percent; St. Clair County, up 3 percent; and Blount County, up 1 percent.

Baldwin County continued to be a population gainer. It was up 7 percent in the little over three-year period.

Figures for state cities from April 1, 2010, through 2012, showed the estimated population in both Tuscaloosa and Northport increasing 3 percent. Tuscaloosa added 2,459 people for an estimated population of 93,357. Northport added 736 residents for an estimated population of 24,088.

Shifts in population nationally are being driven by new energy production technology, causing that to be one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States, the Census Bureau said. The boom in the U.S. follows the use of new technologies, such as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, to tap oil and gas reserves.

“Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industries were the most rapidly growing part of our nation’s economy over the last several years,” Census Bureau Director John H.Thompson said. Those industries grew 34.2 percent to $555.2 billion from 2007 to 2012. They also saw employment increase of 23.3 percent to 903,641 workers.

While energy exploration is drawing people to the Great Plains and Mountain West, Florida is still one of the top destinations in the country, as it shows up again and again in census data for population growth.

Fueled by an increasing number of retirees, the fastest-growing metro area in the country was The Villages, boasting a 5.2 percent increase in population between 2012 and 2013. Its surrounding county, Sumter County, also shows up as one of the fastest-growing counties in the country with a 5.2 percent increase during the three-year time period.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.

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